JP6844831B2 - Multi-row sorting device for goods and multi-row sorting method for goods - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a multi-row sorting device for goods and a multi-row sorting method for goods, which sorts the goods carried in a row into a multi-row (plurality of rows) goods row.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a multi-row sorting device for sorting articles in a row state carried in from a carrying-in section into a plurality of rows of goods. This multi-row sorting device includes a traverse body that moves laterally in the width direction on a conveyor arranged on the downstream side of the loading section, and an introduction guide member that introduces articles in a row from the loading section to the traverse body. ing. The traverse body is provided with a fixed guide member into which articles in a row are introduced from the introduction guide member, and a movable guide member that moves back and forth with respect to the fixed guide member along the traveling direction of the conveyor.

In the multi-row sorting device, the movable guide member advances from the retracted position, and the traverse main body starts lateral movement at the timing of holding the next row of goods, thereby laterally moving the held row of goods to the next row of goods. In the process of this lateral movement, the movable guide member moves laterally while advancing at the same speed as the row of articles on the conveyor. Then, when the next distribution position is reached, the next row of articles is sent out by the retracting operation of the movable guide member. After that, each time the row of goods to be sorted is switched, these operations are repeated, so that the goods in the row state are continuously sorted into a plurality of rows of goods.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-77114

By the way, in the multi-row sorting device for articles described in Patent Document 1, when the movable guide member starts advancing from the retracted position and the next article row is held by the movable guide member in the middle of the advancing, the traverser main body Starts lateral movement. At this time, the positional relationship between the tip of the movable guide member and the row of articles on the conveyor in the traveling direction may be inappropriate, or the movable guide member may still be accelerating. In this case, when the movable guide member starts to move laterally, the tip of the movable guide member hooks the article at the end of the article row to which it has been sent out first, or the article at the beginning of the article row held by the movable guide member. May come off from the tip of the movable guide member during lateral movement. In this way, the tip of the movable guide member and the row of articles on the conveyor are in a more appropriate positional relationship depending on the traveling direction, and the forward speed of the movable guide member is substantially the same as the row of articles on the conveyor. Highly accurate control that can start lateral movement is desired.

An object of the present invention is a multi-row sorting device for articles and an article that can start lateral movement of the traverser body in a state where the moving guide member in progress and the row of articles on the conveyor are at substantially the same speed and in a more appropriate positional relationship. The purpose is to provide a multi-column distribution method.

Hereinafter, means for solving the above problems and their actions and effects will be described.
The multi-row sorting device for articles that solves the above problems is a device that sorts articles in a row state carried onto a conveyor from a loading unit into a predetermined number of rows of articles, and follows a predetermined order in the width direction of the conveyor. A traverser main body that moves laterally, a fixed guide member that is provided on the traverser main body and holds the articles in a row state parallel to the traveling direction of the conveyor, and a fixed guide member that is provided between the carry-in portion and the traverser main body. An introduction guide member that introduces articles from the carry-in portion into the fixed guide member in a row state, and an introduction guide member that is provided on the traverser main body and holds the articles in a row state parallel to the traveling direction with respect to the fixed guide member. The movable guide member that moves back and forth along the traveling direction and the movable guide member are advanced from the retracted position after the retracting operation of sending out the previous row of articles, and the moving guide member that is moving forward holds the next row of articles. In this state, after the traverser main body is laterally moved to the next distribution position, the control unit that sends out the next row of articles by retracting the movable guide member and the article passing through the predetermined position of the fixed guide member are detected. A counting unit that counts the number of articles and a measuring unit that measures the driving amount of the conveyor are provided. In the control unit, the counting value of the counting unit is equal to the number of articles in one row of the previous article row. When the corresponding target value is reached, the measuring unit starts measuring the driving amount of the conveyor, and when the measured value of the measuring unit reaches the adjusted value according to the diameter of the article, the movable guide member retracts. The advance from the position is started, and after the advance speed of the movable guide member reaches a target speed of substantially the same speed as the transport speed of the conveyor, the lateral movement of the traverser main body is started.

According to this configuration, the number of articles passing through a predetermined position of the movable guide member is counted by the counting unit. The control unit starts measuring the drive amount of the conveyor after the count value of the goods reaches the target value corresponding to the number of goods for one row of the previous goods row, and the measured value of the measurement unit corresponds to the diameter of the goods. When the adjusted value is reached, the movable guide member is advanced from the retracted position. Then, the control unit starts the lateral movement of the traverser main body after the forward speed of the movable guide member reaches the target speed of the same speed as the conveyor speed. Therefore, the lateral movement of the traverser main body can be started in a state where the movable guide member in advance and the row of articles on the conveyor are at substantially the same speed and in a more appropriate positional relationship. As a result, for example, the tip of the movable guide member that has started the lateral movement does not catch the article at the end of the previous article row, and the movable guide member firmly holds the next article row to the first article during the lateral movement. be able to.

In the multi-row sorting device, the predetermined position is a position on the upstream side in the traveling direction by a set distance from the tip of the movable guide member when it is in the retracted position, and the set distances are the first distance and the first distance. The value is set to be larger than the sum of the two distances, and the first distance is the time required for acceleration until the forward speed of the movable guide member that has started moving forward from the backward position reaches the target speed, and the conveyor. It is a distance obtained by subtracting the acceleration distance that the movable guide member advances from the retracted position to the target speed from the article transport distance represented by the product of the transport speed of, and the second distance is the distribution target. In a plurality of types of articles having different diameters, the maximum value of the distance between the detected position detected by the counting unit and the outer peripheral edge on the upstream side in the traveling direction of the article is preferable.

According to this configuration, even when handling articles having different diameters, the lateral movement of the traverser main body can be started in a state where the movable guide member being moved and the row of articles on the conveyor are in a more appropriate positional relationship.
In the multi-row sorting device, the counting unit includes a counting sensor that is arranged at the predetermined position to detect the article, and the counting sensor has the movable guide member in the retracted position in all the sorting rows. After retreating, it is preferable that the article at the end of the above-mentioned article row is arranged in a detectable position range.

According to this configuration, after the movable guide member has retracted to the retracted position in all the sorting rows, the counting sensor can detect the article at the end of the previous article row. Therefore, even when the article row length determined by the diameter of the articles and the number of articles for one row is the shortest, and the maximum transport speed and the maximum lateral movement amount, the count value of the counting unit is calculated after the movable guide member returns to the retracted position. The forward control of the movable guide member can be performed at the forward start timing based on the above. The lateral movement of the traverser main body can be started in a state where the movable guide member in advance and the row of articles on the conveyor are at substantially the same speed and in a more appropriate positional relationship.

In the multi-row sorting device, the adjustment value preferably changes according to the distance between the detected position detected by the counting unit in the article and the outer peripheral end on the upstream side in the traveling direction of the article.

According to this configuration, when the measuring unit finishes counting the adjustment value that changes according to the distance between the detected position of the article detected by the counting unit and the outer peripheral end on the upstream side in the traveling direction of the article, the movable guide member Starts moving forward. Therefore, the timing at which the movable guide member starts advancing can be appropriately adjusted according to the diameter of the article. As a result, regardless of the diameter of the article, the lateral movement of the traverser main body can be started in a state where the moving guide member in advance and the array of articles on the conveyor are at substantially the same speed and in a more appropriate positional relationship.

In the multi-row sorting device, it is preferable that the control unit starts lateral movement of the traverser main body when the movable guide member that has started advancing from the retracted position reaches the target speed.

According to this configuration, the lateral movement of the traverser main body can be started immediately after the movable guide member reaches the target speed. Since the distance that the movable guide member advances from reaching the target speed to the start of lateral movement is short, the maximum stroke required for the back-and-forth movement of the movable guide member can be shortened. As a result, for example, the total length of the sorting device in the traveling direction can be shortened, which can contribute to the miniaturization of the device. Further, it is possible to shorten the time required for one cycle of the sorting operation until the movable guide member that has started moving forward from the retreating position returns to the retreating position after undergoing lateral movement to the next sorting row.

The multi-row sorting method of articles that solves the above problems is a method of sorting articles in a row state carried onto a conveyor from a loading section into a predetermined number of rows of articles, in accordance with a predetermined order in the width direction of the conveyor. A traverser main body that moves laterally, a fixed guide member that is provided on the traverser main body and holds the articles in a row state parallel to the traveling direction of the conveyor, and a fixed guide member that is provided between the carry-in portion and the traverser main body. An introduction guide member that introduces articles from the carry-in portion into the fixed guide member in a row state, and an introduction guide member that is provided on the traverser main body and holds the articles in a row state parallel to the traveling direction with respect to the fixed guide member. A first counting step for counting the number of articles passing through a predetermined position of the fixed guide member and a counting value counted in the first counting step are provided with a movable guide member that moves back and forth in the traveling direction. A second counting step for counting the adjustment value according to the diameter of the article after reaching the target value, and a forward step for starting the advance from the retracted position of the movable guide member when the adjustment value has been counted. After the movable guide member that started advancing in the advancing step reaches a target speed that is substantially the same as the transport speed of the conveyor, the lateral movement step that starts the lateral movement of the traverser main body and the lateral movement are performed. When the started traverser main body reaches the next distribution position, the traverser main body is provided with a delivery step of stopping the lateral movement of the traverser main body and retracting the movable guide member to the retracted position to send out the next line of articles. There is. According to this multi-row sorting method, the same operation and effect as the above-mentioned multi-row sorting device can be obtained.

According to the present invention, the lateral movement of the traverser main body can be started in a state where the movable guide member in advance and the row of articles on the conveyor are at substantially the same speed and in a more appropriate positional relationship.

(A) to (d) are schematic plan views which show the sorting operation in the multi-row sorting apparatus of article in one Embodiment. Schematic side view of a multi-row sorting device. The perspective view which shows the traverser main body and the movable guide member of a multi-row sorting apparatus. Schematic front view of the multi-row sorting device with a partial breakage. The schematic plan view explaining the sorting operation of the article in the multi-row sorting apparatus. The schematic plan view which shows the multi-row sorting apparatus when a movable guide member is in a retracted position. The schematic plan view which shows the state when the movable guide member is in a retracted position. The schematic plan view which shows the state when the movable guide member is in the lateral movement start position. (A) is a schematic plan view showing a lateral movement start position when it is a large-diameter article, and (b) is a schematic plan view which shows the lateral movement start position when it is a deformed article. The block diagram which shows the electrical composition of a multi-row sorting apparatus. A timing chart showing control of forward movement and lateral movement of the movable guide member. A flowchart showing the control contents of the multi-row sorting device.

Hereinafter, the multi-row sorting device for articles in one embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
The multi-row sorting device 10 for articles shown in FIG. 1 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “sorting device 10”) uses a row of articles B carried in from a carry-in unit 12 having a carry-in conveyor C1 as an example of a conveyor. The distribution unit 13 on the conveyor C2 for transportation distributes the goods to a predetermined number of rows (4 rows of 10 in each row in the example of FIG. 1) of articles L1, L2, L3, and L4. The sorted rows of goods in a predetermined number of rows are arranged in the arrangement section 14 arranged on the downstream side of the traveling direction X of the conveyor C2 from the sorting section 13. The sorting device 10 includes a machine base 11, a traverser main body 20, a fixed guide member 30, an introduction guide member 40, and a movable guide member 50 as a configuration for performing a sorting operation in the sorting unit 13. Article B comprises, for example, a liquid or empty bottle container or a PET bottle. In this example, the article B carried in from the carry-in section 12 is in one row, but this is set to a plurality of rows (for example, two rows), and the article B in a plurality of rows from the carry-in section 12 is a predetermined number of rows for each row. It may be sorted into the article line of. Further, in the example of FIG. 1, the number of articles N distributed to each distribution row is 10 in common, but the number of articles N to be distributed may differ depending on the row.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the machine base 11 is installed in the sorting device 10 so as to straddle the conveyor C2 in the width direction W. The machine base 11 includes a plurality of side frames 15 and an upper frame 16 supported in a horizontal state by each side frame 15. As shown in FIG. 4, a lateral movement motor 21 (servo motor) is provided on the machine base 11, and a toothed belt 24 is stretched between pulleys 22 and 23 installed on the upper frame 16. .. The traverser main body 20 and the toothed belt 24 are connected by a connecting portion 25. By moving the toothed belt 24 based on the forward and reverse rotation of the lateral movement motor 21, the traverser main body 20 laterally moves in the width direction W according to a predetermined order.

The traverser main body 20 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 was introduced from the carry-in portion 12 via the introduction guide member 40 by laterally moving in the width direction W in a predetermined order along the upper frame 16 of the machine base 11. Article B is distributed into an article row having a predetermined number of rows (for example, 4 rows). The order of lateral movement of the traverser main body 20 is determined according to the setting information input to the control unit 80 (see FIG. 10). The setting information includes information on "the number of distribution columns (predetermined number of columns)", and for example, the order of horizontal movement is determined according to the number of distribution columns. In the case of four rows, the order of lateral movement of the traverser main body 20 may be the order of the example of FIG. 1, but as an example, the article B is sorted by laterally moving in the order shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the traverser main body 20 has two main body members 20A and 20B arranged side by side in parallel with the traveling direction X of the conveyor C2 and two main body members 20A in relation to the width adjusting mechanism 60. , 20B is provided with a screw rod 62 and a nut member 63 for connecting the 20B in an adjustable width state. A handle 61 that can be rotated by an operator is fixed to one end of the screw rod 62. Further, the traverser main body 20 is provided with a fixed guide member 30 into which the article B is introduced from the introduction guide member 40, and a movable guide member 50 capable of moving back and forth with respect to the fixed guide member 30 along the traveling direction X. Be done.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fixed guide member 30 has a pair of left and right guide bars 32 fixed to each of the main body members 20A and 20B of the traverser main body 20 via frames 31 and 31, respectively. .. The pair of guide bars 32 guide the articles B in a row by guiding both side portions of the articles B to be distributed, and are provided so as to extend in parallel with the traveling direction X of the conveyor C2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the introduction guide member 40 is provided between the carry-in portion 12 and the traverser main body 20, and has a function of guiding the article B of the carry-in portion 12 to the fixed guide member 30 fixed to the traverser main body 20. .. As shown in FIG. 2, the downstream end of the introduction guide member 40 is axially connected to the traverser main body 20 via a pin 41 or the like (see also FIG. 5), and the upstream end thereof is the carry-in portion 12. The shaft is connected to the shaft via a pin 42 or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the introduction guide member 40 is a plurality of connecting members 43 having a predetermined length extending between the pins 41 and 42, and a plurality of connecting members 43 fixed to the connecting members 43 at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction thereof. It has a bracket 44 and a pair of left and right guide bars (only one side is shown in FIG. 2) fixed to the inner side surface of the bracket 44, two on each side. The introduction guide member 40 has a downstream end connected by a pin 41 or the like that moves laterally together with the traverser main body 20 so that the introduction guide member 40 has a pin 42, which is a connection point with the carry-in portion 12, as a fulcrum within a predetermined swing angle. Perform rocking motion.

As shown in FIG. 3, the movable guide member 50 is provided on the traverser main body 20 and moves back and forth with respect to the traverser main body 20 (that is, the fixed guide member 30) along the traveling direction X of the conveyor C2. Specifically, the movable guide member 50 has a pair of rail members 52, 52 that slide along the sliding groove members 51, 51 provided in the main body members 20A, 20B of the traverser main body 20, respectively. A back-and-forth movement motor 53 (servo motor), a pair of pulleys 54, 55, and a toothed belt 56 mounted on the outer periphery of the pulleys 54, 55 are attached to the traverser main body 20. The rail member 52 and the toothed belt 56 are connected by a connecting portion 57. The movable guide member 50 moves back and forth when the back-and-forth movement motor 53 is driven in the forward and reverse directions by the control unit 80 (see FIG. 10).

As shown in FIG. 3, the movable guide member 50 is fixed to a plurality of brackets 58, 58 extending downward from the rail members 52, 52, and to the inner surfaces of the brackets 58, 58 in a state of extending along the traveling direction X. It has a pair of left and right guide bars 59. Further, the pair of rail members 52, 52 are connected to each other via the connecting member 65 so that the distance in the width direction W can be adjusted. The connecting member 65 has a stretchable structure including an outer cylinder portion 66 and an inner cylinder portion 67 in relation to the width adjusting mechanism 60. In this example, two connecting members 65 are provided in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the guide bars 32 and 59 are arranged side by side in the vertical direction, and their inner side surfaces are arranged flush with each other. The movable guide member 50 can move back and forth within a range between the retracted position shown in FIG. 6 and the forward position shown in FIG. 1 (c) slightly upstream of the arrangement portion 14 shown in FIG. In the case where the carry-in unit 12 conveys the articles in two rows and distributes the articles in multiple rows for each row, the guide bars 45, 32, 59 are used for the introduction guide member 40, the fixed guide member 30, and the movable guide member 50, respectively. Are arranged so as to be separated by a width capable of guiding the articles B in two rows, and an intermediate guide bar (not shown) is installed in the middle of the width directions W of the guide bars 45, 32, 59.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sorting device 10 has a simple width held by the fixed guide member 30 and the movable guide member 50 when the sorted article B is switched to one having a different diameter. A width adjusting mechanism 60 that can be adjusted by various operations is provided. The width adjusting mechanism 60 is a fixed guide member 30 and a movable guide attached to each of the pair of main body members 20A and 20B by changing the interval of the pair of main body members 20A and 20B constituting the traverser main body 20 in the width direction W. It is a mechanism that can easily change the width of the member 50 at the same time.

The width adjusting mechanism 60 of this example is provided on one main body member 20A of the traverser main body 20 and is provided on a screw rod 62 rotated by a handle 61 and on the other main body member 20B, and the screw rod 62 is screwed. A nut member 63 is provided. The width spacing of the main body members 20A and 20B is adjusted by moving the other main body member 20B closer to and further from the one main body member 20A by rotating the screw rod 62 by the handle 61. At this time, the connecting member 65 of the movable guide member 50 expands or contracts according to the adjusted width interval.

Next, the configuration of the conveyor C2 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the conveyor C2 includes a pair of rollers 71, 72 arranged at predetermined intervals in the traveling direction X, and a conveyor belt 73 wound around the pair of rollers 71, 72. A transport motor 74 is connected to one end of one roller 72, which is a drive roller, in a state in which the output power can be transmitted. An encoder 75 as an example of a detection unit used for measuring the rotation amount of the roller 72, that is, the drive amount of the conveyor C2 is connected to the other end of the roller 72.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the traverser main body 20 is provided with a counting sensor 76 which constitutes an example of a counting unit capable of detecting an article B passing through a predetermined position of the fixed guide member 30 for the purpose of counting. ing. The counting sensor 76 is arranged at a height at which the lid portion Bc (cap portion) of the article B can be detected. When the counting sensor 76 is arranged at the retracted position shown in FIG. 6 in which the movable guide member 50 is retracted with respect to the fixed guide member 30, the distance from the tip of the movable guide member 50 to the upstream side in the traveling direction X is It is arranged at a position where the set distance is L. In this way, the counting sensor 76 detects the article B (particularly the lid portion Bc) passing through the fixed guide member 30 at a predetermined position defined by the set distance L. The control unit 80, which will be described later, counts the number of articles B detected by the counting sensor 76 for each article row.

As shown in FIG. 7, the counting sensor 76 of the present embodiment includes, for example, an optical sensor, and includes a light emitting unit 76A and a light receiving unit 76B. The light emitting unit 76A and the light receiving unit 76B are fixed at positions on both sides of the traverser main body 20 facing each other with the passage of the fixing guide member 30 interposed therebetween. The set distance L is set to a value equal to or greater than the minimum distance Lmin. The details of this minimum distance Lmin will be described later.

Since the counting sensor 76 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 turns on when the detection target portion (lid portion Bc in this example) of the article B is detected and turns off when the detection target portion (lid portion Bc in this example) is not detected, the lid portion Bc is turned on. The first detection signal Sc1 (see FIG. 11) including one pulse generated each time it is detected is output. Further, the encoder 75 shown in FIG. 6 outputs a second detection signal Sc2 (encoder signal) (see FIG. 11) including a number of pulses proportional to the driving amount of the conveyor C2.

Next, with reference to FIG. 1, the sorting operation of the articles performed by the sorting device 10 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 1A, a predetermined number (1) of the movable guide members 50 are arranged in a state where the traverser main body 20 is arranged at a predetermined position in the width direction W (first row L1 in the example of FIG. 1A). (For example, 10) articles B1 are sent out on the conveyor C2 as an article row L1. In the process of sending out the article row L1, the movable guide member 50 returns from the forward position to the backward position. Then, the movable guide member 50 that has returned to the retracted position accelerates while advancing from the retracted position as shown in FIG. 1A at a predetermined time. At this time, the article B2 for the next row L2 introduced through the introduction guide member 40 is held in the fixed guide member 30 and the movable guide member 50.

As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the movable guide member 50 that advances while accelerating reaches the target speed at the same speed as the transport speed of the article B2 on the conveyor C2, and from the article B1 at the end of the previous article row L1. When the article B2 located one upstream side is held, the traverser main body 20 starts to move laterally toward the position of the next row L2. In the process of lateral movement of the traverser main body 20, the movable guide member 50 continues to move forward at a target speed at the same speed as the transport speed of the article B2 (FIGS. 1 (b) to 1 (c)). By making the forward speed of the movable guide member 50 substantially the same as the transfer speed Vb of the conveyor C2, the movable guide member 50 makes the article B2 for the next row L2 on the conveyor C2 traveling in the traveling direction X at the transfer speed Vb. It can move sideways while holding it. That is, the movable guide member 50 can laterally move the held article B2 while allowing the transfer by the conveyor C2.

As shown in FIG. 1 (c), when the traverser main body 20 finishes lateral movement to the position of the next row L2, the movable guide member 50 retracts as shown in FIG. 1 (d), so that the movable guide member 50 The article B2 held in the article B2 is sent out on the conveyor C2 as an article row L2. When the lateral movement is completed, the article B2 in the next row L2 is in the position of advancing together with the movable guide member 50, so that the time for sending the article B2 as the article row L2 is significantly shortened, and the article row is distributed without interruption. be able to. Therefore, almost at the same time when the previously sent out article row L1 finishes being carried into the corresponding row (for example, the first row) of the arrangement portion 14 by the conveyor C2, the corresponding row of the arrangement portion 14 of the next article row L2 (for example, the first row). For example, the delivery to the second row) is started.

As a result of the retreat of the movable guide member 50 shown in FIG. 1 (d), after the movable guide member 50 has returned to the retracted position (see FIG. 6), the movable guide member 50 starts advancing and accelerates at a predetermined time. Then, returning to FIG. 1A (however, the columns are different), the sorting columns are changed and the above sorting operation is repeated. That is, the traverser main body 20 moves laterally in a predetermined order, and the movable guide member 50 that started advancing before the start of the lateral movement retracts after the completion of the lateral movement, so that the row shape carried in from the carry-in portion 12 The body articles are sorted into a predetermined number of columns (for example, 4 columns). As shown in FIG. 1, among the door members S provided before and after the arrangement portion 14, the door member S on the front side (right side in FIG. 1) is in a state of being completely closed until the arrangement of the article rows L1 to L4 is completed. Each time the arrangement of the article rows L1 to L4 distributed to the arrangement unit 14 is completed, the front door members S are opened in all rows and discharged to a device (not shown) all at once.

FIG. 5 shows the operation order of the traverser main body 20 and the movable guide member 50 in the sorting device 10 with arrows. In FIG. 5, the operation order is shown in an example of performing four-column distribution. As shown in the figure, in the sorting device 10, (1) the movable guide member 50 is retracted, (2) the movable guide member 50 is moved forward while moving to the right by two rows of the traverser main body 20, and (3) the movable guide. Retreat of the member 50, (4) Move the movable guide member 50 to the right by one row while advancing the movable guide member 50, (5) Retreat the movable guide member 50, (6) Move the movable guide member 50 forward while advancing the traverser main body. It operates in the order of moving left by two rows of 20, (7) retreating the movable guide member 50, and (8) moving the movable guide member 50 forward by one row of the traverser main body 20.

Next, a method of determining the advance start timing of the movable guide member 50 and the lateral movement start timing of the traverser main body 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9.
In FIG. 8, as a result of advancing the movable guide member 50 at a predetermined acceleration from the retracted position shown in FIG. 7, the advancing speed Va of the movable guide member 50 is the transfer speed Vb of the conveyor C2 (that is, the transfer speed Vb of the article B1). It shows a state in which the target speed Vg of the same speed is reached and the timing to start the lateral movement of the traverser main body 20 is reached. The distance that the article B travels by the conveyor C2 until the forward speed Va of the movable guide member 50 that starts moving forward from the backward position at a predetermined acceleration reaches the target speed Vg that is the same speed as the transfer speed Vb of the conveyor C2 is Lb. And. For example, when the transport speed of the conveyor C2 is 80 m / min, assuming that the movable guide member 50 accelerates from a speed of 0 m / min to a target speed of Vg of 80 m / min in 0.1 seconds, the distance La traveled by the article B by the conveyor C2. Is about 133 mm.

Further, the distance required for acceleration until the movable guide member 50 starts advancing from the retracted position and advances at a predetermined acceleration to reach the target speed Vg (= Vb) (hereinafter, also referred to as “acceleration distance”). Let La be. Here, it is assumed that the counting sensor 76 is arranged at a position (Lb-La) from the tip of the movable guide member 50 in the retracted position to the upstream side in the traveling direction X. Assuming that the movable guide member 50 starts advancing at the same time as the lid Bc of the Nth article BN at the end is detected, the Nth article BN has its lid when the movable guide member 50 reaches the target speed Vg. The rear end of Bc reaches the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 8, which coincides with the tip of the movable guide member 50 when the target speed Vg is reached.

The lateral movement start timing is the outer peripheral end (rear end) on the upstream side of the traveling direction X of the Nth article BN shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. ) Does not come into contact with the tip of the movable guide member 50 when the target speed Vg is reached. That is, when the movable guide member 50 reaches the target speed Vg, the rear end of the Nth article BN in the previous article row does not come into contact with the tip of the moving guide member 50 in progress, which is the position shown by the solid line in FIG. Need to go up to. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a gap ΔL between the tip of the movable guide member 50 and the rear end of the Nth article BN. Further, the distance LB between the rear end of the lid Bc, which is the portion where the Nth article BN is detected by the counting sensor 76, and the outer peripheral edge on the upstream side of the traveling direction X of the article B1 is set from the tip of the movable guide member 50. It is necessary to separate it to the downstream side of the traveling direction X. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a distance LC = LB + ΔL between the rear end of the lid portion Bc of the article B and the tip of the movable guide member 50.

As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, there are a plurality of types of the shape and size of the article B handled by the sorting device 10 as the sorting target, including the article B shown in FIG. The article B shown in FIG. 9A has a larger diameter (diameter) than the article B shown in FIG. 8, and the distance LB from the rear end of the lid portion Bc to the rear end on the outer peripheral surface of the article B is FIG. The distance LB2 (> LB1) is larger than the distance LB1 in the case of the article B1 shown in the above. In this case, the distance LC from the rear end of the lid portion Bc of the article B to the tip of the movable guide member 50 needs to be LB2 + ΔL. Further, FIG. 9B is different in shape from the article B shown in FIGS. 8 and 9A, and the distance LB from the rear end of the lid portion Bc to the rear end on the outer peripheral surface of the article B is a sorting device. The maximum distance is LBmax (> LB2) among the plurality of types of articles B handled in 10. In this case, the maximum distance LCmax (= LBmax + ΔL) is required for the distance LC from the rear end of the lid portion Bc of the article B to the tip of the movable guide member 50.

Further, since the control unit 80 shown in FIG. 10 involves switching a signal that outputs the next signal by using the previous signal as a trigger when determining the lateral movement start timing of the movable guide member 50, there is a minute time lag at the time of signal switching. This causes a slight delay in the output timing of the next signal. In the case of this example, since this signal switching exists a plurality of times (for example, twice), the total delay time is the sum of the delay times generated by each signal switching. For example, assuming that the total delay time is 3 milliseconds, when the transfer speed Vb of the conveyor C2 is 80 m / min, the article B advances about 4 mm in the traveling direction X during this total delay time. Therefore, in determining the set distance L, the delay distance Ld obtained by converting this total delay time into a distance is taken into consideration.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, when the Nth article BN detected by the counting sensor 76 reaches the target speed Vg of the movable guide member 50, the tip of the movable guide member 50 and the lateral direction shown in FIG. 8 are shown. In order to have an appropriate positional relationship at the start of movement, it is necessary to set the set distance L to a value equal to or greater than the minimum distance Lmin shown by the following equation (1).
Lmin = Lb-La + LCmax + Ld ... (1)
Here, Lb is the distance that the article B travels by the conveyor C2 during the time required for acceleration until the forward speed Va of the movable guide member 50 that has started moving forward from the backward position accelerates to the target speed Vg (= Vb). Is. Further, La is a distance (acceleration distance) in which the movable guide member 50 that has started advancing from the retracted position advances in the acceleration process until the target speed Vg is reached. LCmax is the maximum distance shown in FIG. 9B, and Ld is the delay distance described above.

In other words, the set distance L is set to a value larger than the sum of the first distance (Lb-La) and the second distance LBmax. That is, the set distance L that satisfies the condition of the following equation (2) is adopted.
L> Lb-La + LBmax ... (2)
The first distance is derived from the article transport distance Lb represented by the product of the time required for acceleration until the forward speed Va of the movable guide member 50 that has started moving forward from the retracted position reaches the target speed Vg and the transport speed Vb of the conveyor C2. This is the distance (Lb-La) obtained by subtracting the acceleration distance La for the movable guide member 50 to move forward from the retracted position until the target speed Vg is reached. The second distance is the detected position (rear end position of the lid Bc) detected by the counting sensor 76 in a plurality of types of articles having different diameters handled by the sorting device 10, and the upstream side of the traveling direction X of the article B. It is the maximum value LBmax of the distance LB from the outer peripheral end (rear end). It is not always necessary to secure the gap ΔL, and if the total delay time due to signal switching can be ignored, the condition that the tip of the movable guide member 50 at the time when the target speed Vg is reached does not come into contact with the Nth article B. Is the above equation (2). In this example, the set distance L of the minimum distance Lmin or more represented by the above equation (1) is adopted in consideration of the gap ΔL and the total delay time.

Further, the counting sensor 76 arranged at a predetermined position is arranged in a position range in which the article BN at the end of the previous article row can be detected after the movable guide member 50 returns to the retracted position in all the distribution rows. There is. The maximum value of the range in which the set distance L can be set is defined from the upper limit Lmax of the above position range. When the set distance L exceeds the upper limit Lmax, the detection of the Nth article BN by the counting sensor 76 has already been completed when the movable guide member 50 returns to the retracted position, and the detection timing of the Nth article BN ( Triggered by the timing when the count value reaches the number of articles N), the control to start the advance of the movable guide member 50 after waiting for the count of the adjustment value n becomes impossible. In this example, even when the article row length determined by the diameter of the article B and the number of articles N is the shortest, the maximum transport speed, and the maximum lateral movement amount, the article row is displayed when the movable guide member 50 returns to the retracted position. A position range that satisfies the condition that the Nth article BN is located upstream of the predetermined position, which is the detection position of the counting sensor 76, in the traveling direction X is defined. Therefore, the set distance L is set to a value satisfying the condition of Lmin ≦ L ≦ Lmax. It should be noted that the shortest article row length for one row assumed is relatively long, or the maximum transport speed is relatively low, and the predetermined position determined by the upper limit Lmax is located on the upstream side of the rear end of the fixed guide member 30. In this case, the counting sensor 76 may be arranged at any position on the traverser main body 20 that satisfies L ≧ Lmin.

The set distance L may be a value within the range of the minimum distance Lmin or more and the upper limit Lmax or less, but as the value increases, it is necessary to increase the number of digits that can be counted by the second counter 83. , The value as small as possible is preferable in the range of the minimum distance Lmin or more. Therefore, in the present embodiment, as an example, the set distance L for determining the predetermined position where the counting sensor 76 is arranged is set to the minimum distance Lmin (L = Lmin).

Distances shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 (a) and 9 (b) in order to adjust the timing from the detection of the lid portion Bc of the Nth article BN at a predetermined position to the start of advancement of the movable guide member 50. The adjustment value n, which is the conversion value of the LC count value, is counted by the second counter 83 (see FIG. 10) described later. When the set distance L is longer than the minimum distance Lmin, the adjustment value n is a count value conversion value of the distance LC + L−Lmin. Further, in this example, the maximum transfer speed is used as an example as the transfer speed Vb of the conveyor C2 used in the above equation (1) or (2) for determining the set distance L. A position adjusting mechanism is provided so that the predetermined position where the counting sensor 76 is arranged can be adjusted along the longitudinal direction of the fixed guide member 30, and the set distance L (=) according to the transport speed determined by the type of the article B or the like. The position of the counting sensor 76 may be manually adjusted or automatically adjusted by using an actuator so as to be Lmin).

Next, the electrical configuration and the functional configuration of the sorting device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 80 of the distribution device 10 incorporates a computer 81 composed of a chipset or the like mounted on a circuit board, a first counter 82, a second counter 83, a third counter 84, a fourth counter 85, and a memory 86. The memory 86 stores a control program executed by the computer 81 when controlling the distribution device 10. The control unit 80 includes an input device 90 that is operated when the operator inputs various necessary setting information, a counting sensor 76, a carry-in motor 91 that is a power source for the carry-in conveyor C1, and a power source for the conveyor C2. The conveyor motor 74, the encoder 75, the lateral movement motor 21, the encoder 92, and the back-and-forth movement motor 53 are electrically connected. The setting information input by the operation of the input device 90 is stored in the memory 86. At least one of the counters 82 to 85 may be configured by hardware built in the computer 81 or built in an electronic circuit other than the computer 81, or the computer 81 executes a program to configure the counters 82 to 85. It may be software to be used.

Here, the setting information includes article identification information (product number, etc.), number of distribution rows (number of distribution positions), number of articles N per row, article diameter (for example, bottle diameter), and downstream device (for example, caser). Or the transport speed required by the palletizer) is included. In the memory 86, the data of the adjustment value n associated with the distance LC (see FIGS. 8 and 9) represented by the sum of the distance LB and the gap ΔL for each article, and the movable guide member that started advancing from the retracted position. Data of a set value m corresponding to an acceleration distance or an acceleration required time required for acceleration until the forward speed Va of 50 reaches a target speed Vg having the same speed as the transfer speed Vb of the conveyor C2 is stored. These adjustment values n and set values m are calculated by the computer 81 using the setting information or obtained by referring to a table (not shown).

The counting sensor 76 shown in FIG. 10 detects an article B to be counted passing through a predetermined position of the fixed guide member 30. The counting sensor 76 of this example detects the lid portion Bc of the article B as a detection target (see FIG. 7) by turning it on when the lid portion Bc is being detected and turning it off when it is not being detected. The first detection signal Sc1 (see FIG. 11) including the same number of pulses as the number of articles B is output. Further, the encoder 75 shown in FIG. 10 outputs a second detection signal Sc2 (see FIG. 11) including a number of pulses proportional to the driving amount of the conveyor C2. Further, the encoder 92 shown in FIG. 10 outputs a third detection signal Sc3 including a number of pulses proportional to the driving amount of the lateral movement motor 21.

The control unit 80 shown in FIG. 10 controls the carry-in motor 91 and the transfer motor 74 based on the transfer speed required from the device on the downstream side, and controls the speeds of the conveyors C1 and C2 to the transfer speeds V1 and Vb. .. Further, the control unit 80 drives and controls the lateral movement motor 21 to control the lateral movement of the traverser main body 20, and also drives and controls the front-back movement motor 53 to control the back-and-forth movement of the movable guide member 50.

The first counter 82 counts the number of pulses of the first detection signal Sc1 input from the counting sensor 76, thereby counting the number of articles passing through the predetermined position of the fixed guide member 30 for each article row. The first counter 82 outputs a count-up signal SU1 each time the count value reaches the number of articles N (10 in the examples of FIGS. 1 and 6) for one row distributed at the current distribution position. It will be reset and will continue to start counting the number of next line of goods. In the present embodiment, the counting sensor 76 and the first counter 82 constitute an example of the counting unit.

Further, the second counter 83 shown in FIG. 10 starts counting when the count-up signal SU1 is input. The second counter 83 measures the count value conversion value of the drive amount of the conveyor C2 by counting the number of pulses of the second detection signal Sc2 input from the encoder 75. The second counter 83 outputs the count-up signal SU2 and is reset every time the count value reaches the adjustment value n. In the present embodiment, the encoder 75 and the second counter 83 constitute an example of the measuring unit.

Each time the count-up signal SU2 is input from the second counter 83, the computer 81 outputs a forward command signal Sad (see FIG. 11) to a motor drive circuit (not shown) to start driving the forward / backward movement motor 53. , The movable guide member 50 is started to advance from the retracted position. At this time, the forward command signal Sad is also input from the computer 81 to the third counter 84. As the adjustment value n, a count value conversion value of the distance LC that changes according to the diameter of each article B shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 (a) and 9 (b) is set. If the type of bottle shape of the article B is the same, the adjustment value n is a second diameter larger than the first diameter than when the article B has the first diameter, for example, a 500 ml PET bottle. For example, a 2000 ml PET bottle is set to a larger value.

The third counter 84 starts counting when the forward command signal Sad is input. The third counter 84 inputs a detection signal obtained by converting the second detection signal Sc2 or the second detection signal Sc2 from the encoder 75 into a high pulse frequency by a multiplication circuit (not shown) and counts the number of pulses, or a computer. Time is measured by counting the number of pulses of the clock signal input from 81 or other electronic circuits. The third counter 84 outputs the count-up signal SU3 every time the count value reaches the set value m. Here, the set value m is set until the forward speed Va of the movable guide member 50 reaches the target speed of the same speed as the transfer speed Vb of the conveyor C2 after the movable guide member 50 starts moving forward at a predetermined acceleration from the retracted position. It is a count value conversion value of the acceleration distance or the time required for acceleration. In addition, an encoder that outputs a detection signal (encoder signal) including a number of pulses proportional to the rotation amount of the forward / backward movement motor 53 may be provided, and the third counter 84 may count the pulses of the detection signal input from this encoder. Good. Further, in this case, the control unit 80 may acquire at least one of the forward position and the forward speed of the movable guide member 50 based on the detection signal from the encoder.

Further, the computer 81 inputs a rotation direction instruction value every time the forward speed Va of the movable guide member 50 reaches the target speed and the count-up signal SU3 due to the count value of the third counter 84 reaching the set value m is input. The lateral movement command signal Str (see FIG. 11) including the lateral movement command signal Str (see FIG. 11) is output to a motor drive circuit (not shown) to start driving the lateral movement motor 21 in the instructed rotation direction. By driving the lateral movement motor 21, the traverser main body 20 is laterally moved toward the next distribution position.

The computer 81 shown in FIG. 10 counts the number of pulses of the third detection signal Sc3 input from the encoder 92 by the fourth counter 85, and based on the counted value, the traverser main body 20 and the movable guide member 50 are laterally moved in the lateral movement direction ( Grasp the position in the width direction W). The fourth counter 85 adds the count value by 1 when the traverser main body 20 moves away from the home position, and subtracts the count value by 1 when the traverser main body 20 approaches the home position. When the count value of the fourth counter 85 reaches the value of the next distribution position after the drive of the lateral movement motor 21 is started, the computer 81 outputs a stop command (not shown) to the lateral movement motor 21. And the drive of the forward / backward movement motor 53 are stopped.

Next, the computer 81 outputs a backward command signal (not shown) to reversely drive the forward / backward movement motor 53 to move the movable guide member 50 backward from the forward position (see FIG. 1C) to move the movable guide member 50 backward to the backward position. (See FIGS. 6 and 7). By the backward operation of the movable guide member 50 at the next distribution position, the next row of articles is sent out from the movable guide member 50. In this way, one cycle of the sorting operation is completed, and when the number of articles counted by the first counter 82 reaches the target value N, the computer 81 starts one cycle of the next sorting operation, and this cycle is continuously performed. Sorting control is performed. The pulse count by the counters 83 to 85 may be the count of the number of pulse edges instead of the count of the number of pulses.

Next, with reference to FIG. 11, the contents of the distribution control performed by the computer 81 in the control unit 80 will be described. In FIG. 11, the first sorting row is the A row and the next sorting row is the B row, and in order to simplify the explanation, the number of goods N per row of the goods row is 10 as in FIG. It is supposed to be.

As shown in FIG. 11, the first counter 82 counts the number of pulses of the detection signal Sc1 input from the counting sensor 76 that has detected the lid Bc of the article B passing through the predetermined position of the fixed guide member 30. When the count value reaches the number of articles N in column A (“10” in the example of FIG. 11), the count-up signal SU1 is output. When the second counter 83 inputs the count-up signal SU1, it starts counting the pulse of the detection signal Sc2 from the encoder 75, and when the count value reaches the adjustment value n, it outputs the count-up signal SU2. When the count-up signal SU2 is input, the control unit 80 outputs a forward command signal Sad to drive the forward / backward movement motor 53 in the forward rotation. At this time, the third counter 84 that has input the forward command signal Sad starts counting the set value m. When the control unit 80 inputs the count-up signal SU3 indicating that the set value m has been counted from the third counter 84, the control unit 80 outputs the lateral movement command signal Str, and the traverser main body 20 distributes the lateral movement motor 21 to the next. Drive in the direction toward the position.

Next, the operation of the multi-row sorting device 10 for articles will be described. The operator operates the input device 90 to input setting information including the product number of the article, the article diameter, the number of sorting rows, the number of articles N per row, and the like into the sorting device 10. After that, the operator operates an operation start button (not shown) of the sorting device 10 to instruct the start of operation. When the computer 81 in the control unit 80 receives an operation start command based on the operation of the operation start button, the control unit 80 drives the carry-in motor 91 and the transfer motor 74 and requests the conveyors C1 and C2, for example. It is driven at the transfer speeds V1 and Vb determined based on the information of the transferred transfer speed. By driving the conveyors C1 and C2, the articles B are carried in in a row from the carry-in section 12, and the carried-in row-shaped articles B are introduced into the fixed guide member 30 of the traverser main body 20 through the introduction guide member 40. Will be done. When the computer 81 in the control unit 80 receives the operation start command, it executes the control program for distribution control shown in the flowchart in FIG. Hereinafter, the distribution control executed by the computer 81 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S11, the computer 81 causes the first counter 82 to start counting the number of articles detected by the counting sensor 76. The first counter 82 counts the number of articles passing through a predetermined position of the fixed guide member 30 by counting the pulse of the detection signal Sc1 input from the counting sensor 76. The process of step S11 corresponds to an example of the first counting step.

In the next step S12, the computer 81 determines whether or not the number of articles counted by the first counter 82 has reached the target value N. Here, the target value N is the number of articles per row in the row of goods to be sorted at the sorting position at that time (N = 10 in the examples of FIGS. 1 and 11). If the number of articles counted by the first counter 82 does not reach the target value N, the counting of articles B is continued, and if the target value N is reached, the process proceeds to step S13. In the computer 81 of the present embodiment, when the count-up signal SU1 is input from the first counter 82 when the count value reaches the target value N, the number of articles detected by the counting sensor 76 reaches the target value N. Judge that it was done.

In step S13, the computer 81 starts counting (measurement) of the driving amount of the conveyor C2 by the second counter 83. Specifically, when the count-up signal SU1 is input, the computer 81 starts counting the pulse of the detection signal Sc2 input from the encoder 75. Each process of steps S12 and S13 corresponds to an example of the second counting step.

In step S14, the computer 81 determines whether or not the count value of the second counter 83 has reached the adjustment value n. In the computer 81 of this example, when the count-up signal SU2 shown in FIG. 11 indicating that the count value of the second counter 83 has reached the adjustment value n is input, the count value of the second counter 83 reaches the adjustment value n. to decide. If the count value of the second counter 83 has not reached the adjustment value n, the second counter 83 continues counting, and if the count value reaches the adjustment value n, the process proceeds to step S15.

In step S15, the computer 81 commands the movable guide member 50 to move forward. As shown in FIG. 11, when the computer 81 inputs the count-up signal SU2 from the second counter 83, the computer 81 outputs the forward command signal Sad. When this forward command signal Sad is input to a motor drive circuit (not shown), the motor drive circuit drives the forward / backward movement motor 53 in the forward rotation, and the movable guide member 50 starts to move forward. Each process of steps S14 and S15 corresponds to an example of a forward step.

In step S16, the computer 81 determines whether or not the forward speed Va of the movable guide member 50 has reached the same speed as the transfer speed Vb (conveyor speed) of the conveyor C2. As shown in FIG. 11, the computer 81 of this example inputs the count-up signal SU3 when the count value of the second counter 83 reaches the set value m, so that the forward speed Va is the same as the conveyor speed Vb. Judge that the target speed has been reached. If the forward speed Va of the movable guide member 50 has not reached the target speed, the forward acceleration of the movable guide member 50 is continued, and if the forward speed Va reaches the target speed, the process proceeds to step S17.

In step S17, the computer 81 commands the lateral movement of the traverser main body 20. Specifically, when the computer 81 inputs the count-up signal SU3 as shown in FIG. 11 (affirmative determination in S16), the computer 81 outputs the lateral movement command signal Str. When the lateral movement command signal Str is input to a motor drive circuit (not shown), the lateral movement motor 21 is driven in the rotation direction indicated by the lateral movement command signal Str. As a result, the traverser main body 20 starts lateral movement toward the next distribution position. At this time, the tip of the movable guide member 50 and the article BN at the end of the previous article row are in the positional relationship shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 (a) and 9 (b). That is, the tip of the movable guide member 50 separates the article BN at the end of the previously sent article row (row A in FIG. 11) from the predetermined gap ΔL. As a result, when the traverser main body 20 starts lateral movement from the states shown in FIGS. 1 (a), 8 and 9 (a) and 9 (b), the tip of the movable guide member 50 becomes the last article B1. Since there is no contact and the gap ΔL is extremely small, the next row of articles (row B in FIG. 11) can be firmly held up to the leading article B2 (see FIGS. 1 (b) and 1 (c)). ). As a result, it is possible to prevent the article B at the head of the article row held by the movable guide member 50 from coming off or coming off during the lateral movement. The processes of steps S16 and S17 correspond to an example of the lateral movement step.

In step S18, the computer 81 determines whether or not the lateral movement has been completed. The computer 81 grasps the position of the traverser main body 20 or the movable guide member 50 in the lateral direction (width direction W) based on the count value of the fourth counter 85, and the count value corresponds to the next distribution position. When it reaches, it is judged that the lateral movement is completed. If the lateral movement is not completed, the lateral movement is continued, and if the lateral movement is completed, the process proceeds to step S19.

In step S19, the computer 81 commands the stop of the lateral movement of the traverser main body 20 and the stop of the advance of the movable guide member. Specifically, the computer 81 outputs a stop command signal to a motor drive circuit (not shown) to stop the drive of the lateral movement motor 21 and the drive of the forward / backward movement motor 53. As a result, the traverser main body 20 and the movable guide member 50 stop at the next distribution position.

In the next step S20, the computer 81 commands the movable guide member 50 to retreat. Specifically, the computer 81 outputs a backward command signal to a motor drive circuit (not shown) to start reverse drive of the forward / backward movement motor 53. As a result, the movable guide member 50 starts the backward operation. The retracting of the movable guide member 50 sends out the next row of articles (see FIG. 1D). Each process of steps S18 to S20 corresponds to an example of a transmission step.

In step S21, the computer 81 determines whether or not the retreat of the movable guide member 50 is completed. When the movable guide member 50 stops at the retracted position and a signal to that effect is input from a motor drive circuit (not shown), it is determined that the movable guide member 50 has been retracted. If the retreat of the movable guide member 50 is not completed, the retreat operation of the movable guide member 50 is continued, and when the retreat of the movable guide member 50 is completed, the routine is terminated. When the movable guide member 50 reaches the retracted position, the article BN at the end of the article line to be sent out has not yet been detected by the counting sensor 76. That is, the movable guide member 50 returns to the retracted position before the trailing article BN passes through the predetermined position of the fixed guide member 30.

When the next control cycle is started in this way, most of the articles in the row of articles to be sent out are counted by the first counter 82, and then the article BN at the end passing through the predetermined position of the fixed guide member 30 is counted. The count value of the first counter 82 is detected by the sensor 76 and reaches the number of articles N (S12). After that, the control cycles (S12 to S21) shown in the flowchart in FIG. 12 are repeatedly executed by the computer 81, so that the sorting operation by the sorting device 10 is continuously performed in a predetermined order.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 (a) and 9 (b), the tip of the movable guide member 50 is the tip of the article row regardless of the difference in the distance LB (particularly LC) according to the diameter of the article B. The lateral movement of the traverser main body 20 can be started at the timing when the article B2 on the upstream side of the article BN at the end of the article B2 is firmly held without contacting the article BN at the end of the article. Therefore, regardless of the diameter of the article B, when the traverser main body 20 starts to move laterally, the tip of the movable guide member 50 comes into contact with the article BN at the end of the previous article row, or the movable guide member during the lateral movement. It is possible to reduce the frequency with which the leading article B2 is about to come off or comes off from the tip of the 50.

Further, for example, when a counting sensor for counting articles is provided at the tip of the movable guide member, the transfer speed is increased in the process in which the movable guide member retracts in the direction opposite to the transfer direction of the article row on the conveyor. It is necessary to detect and count articles moving at a very high relative movement speed, which is the sum of the retreat speed. At this time, if the pulse period of the detection signal of the counting sensor becomes very high as the transport speed increases, erroneous detection of the number of articles tends to occur. On the other hand, if the counting sensor is fixed to the traverser main body, the position accuracy when controlling the positional relationship between the tip of the movable guide member and the row of articles on the conveyor is generally low.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the advance start timing of the movable guide member 50 is controlled by counting the number of articles N of the first counter 82 and the adjustment value n of the second counter 83, and the third counter 84 of the third counter 84. The lateral movement start timing of the traverser main body 20 is controlled by counting the set value m. Therefore, although the counting sensor 76 is fixed to the traverser main body 20, the traverser main body is in a state where the movable guide member 50 in progress and the row of articles on the conveyor C2 are at substantially the same speed and in a more appropriate positional relationship. 20 lateral movements can be started.

As described in detail above, according to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The sorting device 10 includes a counting sensor 76 and a first counter 82 that detect an article B passing through a predetermined position of the fixed guide member 30 and count the number of articles, an encoder 75 that measures the driving amount of the conveyor C2, and the same. A second counter 83 and a control unit 80 are provided. The control unit 80 advances the movable guide member 50 from the retracted position, laterally moves the traverser main body 20 to the next distribution position while the movable guide member 50 holds the next row of articles, and then moves the movable guide member 50. By retreating, the next line of goods is sent out. When the control unit 80 controls the lateral movement start of the traverser main body 20, the control unit 80 of the conveyor C2, in which the second counter 83 starts the measurement after the count value of the first counter 82 reaches the target value N corresponding to the number of articles. When the measured value of the drive amount reaches the adjustment value n according to the diameter of the article B, the movable guide member 50 is started to advance from the retracted position. Further, the control unit 80 starts lateral movement of the traverser main body 20 to the next distribution position after the forward speed Va of the movable guide member 50 reaches a target speed of substantially the same speed as the transfer speed Vb of the conveyor C2. Therefore, the lateral movement of the traverser main body 20 can be started in a state where the movable guide member 50 being moved forward and the row of articles on the conveyor C2 are at substantially the same speed and in a more appropriate positional relationship. As a result, for example, the tip of the movable guide member 50 that has started the lateral movement does not catch the article BN at the end of the previous article row, and the movable guide member 50 moves the next article row to the leading article B during the lateral movement. Can be held firmly.

(2) The predetermined position is a position on the upstream side of the traveling direction X by a set distance L from the tip of the movable guide member 50 when it is in the retracted position, and the set distance L is the first distance (Lb-La) and the first. The value is set to be larger than the sum of the two distances LBmax (L> Lb-La + LBmax). The first distance is movable from the article transport distance Lb represented by the product of the time required for acceleration until the forward speed Va of the movable guide member 50 that has started moving forward from the retracted position reaches the target speed and the transport speed Vb of the conveyor C2. It is a distance (Lb-La) obtained by subtracting the acceleration distance La for the guide member 50 to advance from the retracted position to reach the target speed. The second distance is the detected position (rear end position of the lid Bc) of the article detected by the counting sensor 76 and the upstream of the traveling direction X of the article B in a plurality of types of articles having different diameters to be sorted. It is the maximum value LBmax of the distance LB from the outer peripheral edge on the side. The distance LB for each article B is a value corresponding to the adjustment value n for each article B. Therefore, the adjustment value n can be counted in the range up to the maximum value LBmax. Therefore, regardless of the diameter of the article to be sorted, the side of the traverser main body 20 is in a state where the movable guide member 50 being advanced and the article row on the conveyor C2 are at substantially the same speed and in a more appropriate positional relationship. You can start moving.

(3) The predetermined position where the counting sensor 76 is arranged is set to a position where the counting sensor 76 can detect the article BN at the end of the previous article row after the movable guide member 50 has retracted to the retracted position. .. Therefore, even when the article row length determined by the article diameter and the number of articles N is the shortest, the maximum transport speed, and the maximum lateral movement amount, after the movable guide member 50 returns to the retracted position, the first counter 82 and the second counter 82 and the second counter The forward start control of the movable guide member 50 can be performed based on the count value of the counter 83, and the lateral movement of the traverser main body 20 can be started based on the count value of the third counter 84.

(4) The adjustment value n corresponds to the distance LB between the detected position (rear end position of the lid Bc) detected by the counting sensor 76 in the article B and the outer peripheral end on the upstream side of the traveling direction X of the article B. Change. Therefore, the timing at which the movable guide member 50 starts advancing can be appropriately adjusted according to the diameter of the article B. As a result, regardless of the diameter of the article B, the traverser main body 20 can be laterally moved in a state where the movable guide member 50 being advanced and the article row on the conveyor C2 are at substantially the same speed and in a more appropriate positional relationship. You can start.

(5) When the movable guide member 50 that has started advancing from the retracted position reaches the target speed, the control unit 80 starts lateral movement of the traverser main body 20. Therefore, since the distance that the movable guide member 50 advances from reaching the target speed to the start of lateral movement can be shortened, the maximum stroke required for the back-and-forth movement of the movable guide member 50 can be shortened. For example, the total length of the traveling direction X of the sorting device 10 can be shortened to contribute to the miniaturization of the device. Further, it is possible to shorten the time required for one cycle of the sorting operation from the start of the movable guide member 50 from the retreating position to the lateral movement to the next sorting row and the return to the retreating position.

(6) The multi-row sorting method includes a first counting step (S11) for counting the number of articles B passing through a predetermined position of the fixed guide member 30, and the diameter of the articles after the counting value reaches the target value N. A second counting step (S12, S13) for counting the adjustment value n according to the above is provided. Further, when the adjustment value n is counted, the forward step (S14, S15) for starting the advance of the movable guide member 50 from the retracted position and the movable guide member 50 for starting the advance are substantially the same as the transport speed Vb of the conveyor C2. After reaching the target speed of the speed, the traverser main body 20 is provided with a lateral movement step (S16, S17) for starting the lateral movement. Then, when the traverser main body 20 reaches the next distribution position, the movable guide member 50 is retracted along with the stop of the lateral movement to send out the next row of articles (S18 to S20). Therefore, according to this multi-row sorting method, the lateral movement of the traverser main body 20 can be started in a state where the movable guide member 50 being advanced and the row of articles on the conveyor C2 are at substantially the same speed and in a more appropriate positional relationship.

The embodiment is not limited to the above, and may be changed as follows.
-In a configuration in which a plurality of different transport speeds Vb are set, the set distance L is set to a common value among the plurality of transport speeds Vb, and the predetermined position where the counting sensor 76 is arranged is set to the same position even if the transport speed Vb is different. May be good. Generally, the smaller the diameter of the article, the higher the transfer speed Vb of the conveyor C2 is set. The set distance L is set to a value equal to or greater than the minimum distance Lmin determined by the above equation (1) using the value at the assumed maximum transport speed Vbmax. That is, in the above equation (1), the first distance (Lb-La) is changed to the first distance (Lbmax-Lamax) using the article transport distance Lbmax and the acceleration distance Lamax at the maximum transport speed Vbmax. The article transport distance Lbmax is represented by the product of the time required for acceleration until the forward speed Va of the movable guide member 50 that has started moving forward from the retracted position reaches the maximum transport speed Vbmax, which is the target speed, and the maximum transport speed Vbmax of the conveyor C2. Is done. Further, the acceleration distance Lamax is a distance that the movable guide member 50 advances from the retracted position until it reaches a target speed having the same speed as the maximum transport speed Vbmax. When the transfer speed is smaller than the maximum transfer speed Vbmax, the adjustment value n is changed. For example, when the set distance L = Lmin, the adjustment value n is obtained by the equation n = (Lbmax-Lamax)-(Lb-La) + LC. When L> Lmin, the adjustment value n is calculated by the formula n = (Lbmax-Lamax)-(Lb-La) + LC + L-Lmin.

The lateral movement start timing of the traverser main body 20 may be after the movable guide member 50 that has started advancing from the retracted position reaches the target speed. For example, a waiting time of 0.5 to 1 second may be taken from the time when the movable guide member 50 reaches the target speed to the start of lateral movement. In order to shorten the maximum stroke of the movable guide member 50 as much as possible, the waiting time is the shorter of the time required for the articles to be transported by the distance (diameter x 2) of two articles and 0.2 seconds. It is preferably less than or equal to the value.

The detected position of the article B detected by the counting sensor 76 is not limited to the rear end of the lid portion Bc, but may be the front end of the lid portion Bc. In this case, the distance LB is the distance from the front end of the lid portion Bc to the outer peripheral end on the upstream side in the traveling direction X of the article. Further, the portion of the article detected by the counting sensor 76 is not limited to the lid portion Bc, but may be the neck portion or the body portion of the article. For example, in the case of the body portion, a portion having a diameter smaller than the maximum diameter may be detected. In the present embodiment, the diameter of the article refers to the width of the article in the traveling direction X.

-The adjustment value n (particularly the count value conversion value of the distance LB) according to the diameter of the article may be a constant value. For example, when the sorting device 10 handles only articles having the same diameter, or when the distance LB is substantially equal between articles having different diameters, the adjustment value n may be a constant value according to the diameter.

The acceleration distance La may be a variable value that changes according to the transfer speed Vb of the conveyor C2, or may be a constant value by changing the acceleration of the movable guide member 50 according to the transfer speed Vb.
The measurement of the driving amount of the conveyor C2 by the measuring unit is not limited to the counting of the pulses of the output signal of the encoder 75. For example, if the information on the transfer speed Vb of the conveyor C2 can be acquired, the time t (= LC / Vb) corresponding to the distance LC may be measured as a measured value.

-In a configuration in which a plurality of different transport speeds Vb are set, the set distance L may be changed for each transport speed Vb, and the predetermined position where the counting sensor 76 is arranged may be changed according to the transport speed Vb.
-The order in which the traverser main body 20 moves laterally is not limited to the order shown in FIG. 5 and can be changed as appropriate. The order in which the maximum lateral movement amount per time can be reduced as much as possible is preferable. Further, as shown in Patent Document 1 (for example, FIG. 5), the retracted position at which the movable guide member 50 starts advancing may differ depending on the row. In this case, the retracted position when determining the set distance L is the last retracted position in which the movable guide member 50 can be retracted most among the plurality of retracted positions that differ depending on the row. In this case, the adjustment value n is obtained by adding the difference between the retracted position and the last retracted position.

-In the above embodiment, a stopper may be provided at the tip of the movable guide member 50, and the stopper may be closed during lateral movement to hold the next row of articles in the movable guide member 50 by the stopper.
-In the above embodiment, the same number of articles (for example, 10 in each row) are distributed to a plurality of rows, but the number of articles to be distributed may be changed depending on the row. When the predetermined number of rows is three or more, the number of articles in the outermost row may be twice the number of articles in the other rows. For example, in the case of 4-row distribution, 20 lines may be distributed to the outermost two rows and 10 lines may be distributed to the inner two rows.

-The predetermined number of columns is not limited to 4 columns, and may be a plurality of columns, and may be 2 columns, 6 columns, 8 columns, 10 columns, or an odd number of columns such as 3 columns or 5 columns. When the predetermined number of rows is large, it is preferable to lengthen the total length of the introduction guide member 40 to keep the swing angle small.

10 ... Multi-row sorting device (sorting device), 11 ... Machine stand, 12 ... Carrying section, 13 ... Sorting section, 14 ... Arrangement section, 20 ... Traverser body, 21 ... Lateral movement motor, 30 ... Fixed guide member, 40 ... Introduction guide member, 50 ... Movable guide member, 53 ... Forward / backward movement motor, 74 ... Conveyor motor, 75 ... Encoder as an example of detection unit, 76 ... Counting sensor constituting an example of counting unit, 80 ... Control unit , 81 ... Computer, 82 ... First counter constituting an example of a counting unit, 83 ... Second counter constituting an example of a measuring unit, 84 ... Third counter, 85 ... Fourth counter, 86 ... Memory, 90 ... Input Equipment, 91 ... Carry-in motor, B, B1, B2 ... Goods (sorted goods), L1-L4 ... Goods line, BN ... End (Nth) goods, C1 ... Carry-in conveyor, C2 ... As an example of a conveyor Conveyor for transport, N ... Number of articles for one row as an example of target value, La ... Acceleration distance, Lb ... Article transport distance, ΔL ... Gap, BL ... Distance, BLmax ... Maximum value, BC, BCmax ... Distance, n ... Adjustment value, m ... Set value, L ... Set distance, LBmax ... Second distance, Va ... Forward speed, Vb ... Conveyor speed, Vg ... Target speed, X ... Travel direction, W ... Width direction.

Claims (6)

It is a device that distributes the goods in a row carried on the conveyor from the carry-in section into a predetermined number of rows of goods.
A traverser body that moves laterally in the width direction of the conveyor in a predetermined order, and
A fixed guide member provided on the traverser main body and holding the article in a row parallel to the traveling direction of the conveyor.
An introduction guide member provided between the carry-in portion and the traverser main body and introducing articles from the carry-in portion into the fixed guide member in a row state.
A movable guide member provided on the traverser main body and moving back and forth along the traveling direction with respect to the fixed guide member while holding the articles in a row state parallel to the traveling direction.
The movable guide member is advanced from the retracted position after the retracting operation of sending out the previous row of articles, and the traverser main body is laterally moved to the next sorting position while the movable guide member being advanced holds the next row of articles. After that, the control unit that sends out the next row of goods by retracting the movable guide member, and
A counting unit provided on the traverser main body, which detects articles passing through a predetermined position of the fixed guide member and counts the number of articles.
It is equipped with a measuring unit that measures the driving amount of the conveyor.
When the counting value of the counting unit reaches a target value corresponding to the number of articles for one row of the preceding article row, the control unit causes the measuring unit to start measuring the driving amount of the conveyor, and the measurement is performed. When the measured value of the unit reaches the adjustment value according to the diameter of the article, the movable guide member is started to advance from the retracted position, and the advance speed of the movable guide member is substantially the same as the transfer speed of the conveyor. A multi-row sorting device for articles, characterized in that lateral movement of the traverser main body is started after reaching the target speed of. The predetermined position is a position on the upstream side in the traveling direction by a set distance from the tip of the movable guide member when it is in the retracted position.
The set distance is set to a value larger than the sum of the first distance and the second distance.
The first distance is determined from the article transport distance represented by the product of the time required for acceleration until the forward speed of the movable guide member that has started advancing from the retracted position reaches the target speed and the transport speed of the conveyor. It is the distance obtained by subtracting the acceleration distance from the retracted position to the forward movement of the movable guide member until the target speed is reached.
The second distance is the maximum of the distance between the detected position detected by the counting unit and the outer peripheral edge of the article on the upstream side in the traveling direction in a plurality of types of articles having different diameters to be sorted. The multi-row sorting device for articles according to claim 1, wherein the value is a value. The counting unit includes a counting sensor that is arranged at the predetermined position and detects the article.
The counting sensor is characterized in that, after the movable guide member has retracted to the retracted position in all the distribution rows, the article at the end of the article row is arranged in a position range that can be detected. Item 2. The multi-row sorting device for articles. The adjustment value of claims 1 to 3 is characterized in that the adjustment value changes according to the distance from the detected position detected by the counting unit of the article to the outer peripheral edge of the article on the upstream side in the traveling direction. A multi-row sorting device for articles according to any one item. The control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the movable guide member that has started advancing from the retracted position reaches the target speed, the control unit starts lateral movement of the traverser main body. Multi-row sorting device for the listed articles. It is a multi-row sorting method of goods that sorts the goods in a row carried on the conveyor from the carry-in section into a predetermined number of rows of goods.
A traverser body that moves laterally in the width direction of the conveyor in a predetermined order, and
A fixed guide member provided on the traverser main body and holding the article in a row parallel to the traveling direction of the conveyor.
An introduction guide member provided between the carry-in portion and the traverser main body and introducing articles from the carry-in portion into the fixed guide member in a row state.
The traverser main body is provided with a movable guide member that moves back and forth in the traveling direction with respect to the fixed guide member while holding the article in a row state parallel to the traveling direction.
A first counting step in which a counting unit provided on the traverser main body counts the number of articles passing through a predetermined position of the fixed guide member, and
After the count value counted in the first counting step reaches the target value, the second counting step of counting the adjustment value according to the diameter of the article, and the second counting step.
After counting the adjustment values, the forward step for starting the advance from the retracted position of the movable guide member and the advance step.
After the movable guide member that has started advancing in the advancing step reaches a target speed that is substantially the same as the transport speed of the conveyor, the lateral movement step that starts the lateral movement of the traverser main body and the lateral movement step.
When the traverser main body that has started the lateral movement reaches the next distribution position, the lateral movement of the traverser main body is stopped and the movable guide member is retracted to the retracted position to send out the next article row. A method of multi-row sorting of articles, which is characterized by being provided with.

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